Elevator or conveyer



1,488,858 April l 9 1924 F. E, ARKNDT ELEVATOR OR CONVEYER as o o o o 3&3 wa'L//lZ/ April 1 1924. '1,463,858

F. E. ARNDT y 15mm/Afroxv 0R CoNvnYEn Patented pn l, 1924.

UNiTE FRANKLIN E. ARNDT, OF GALION, OI-IO, ASSIGNO'R TO THE MFG. CO., OF GALION, OHIO, A CORPORATION" Gamen' ino-N Woans a or oHro.

ELEVATOR OR COVEYER.

Application filed. November l tion.

This invention relates to conveyers or elevators, and particularly to portable conveyers such as are used for handling coke, coal, gravel, scrap iron, cement, etc., and are adapted particularly to be used for unloading materials into trucks, the particular elevator or conveyer which forms the subject of this application being intended for use with the horizontal drag conveyer described and illustrated in my pending application for patent, filed on the 4th day of November, 1922, Serial No.` 599,077, and in Patent No. 1,437,581, granted on Decem ber 5, 1922.

The general object of this invention is to provide a conveyor oi' elevator ot1 this type in which the elevator frame is supported by means of a superstructure on wheels, means being provided for raising or lowering the elevator frame `so as to change the angle of its inclination, the construction being such asto permit the elevator or conveyer to be readily shifted from one position to another and arranged in the most convenient relation to the Work to be done.

A further object of the invention is to improve upon elevators or conveyers ot this type by providing a trough over which drag bladesmove, this trough having Wear strips extending longitudinally thereof, upon which wear strips the blades travel, those margins of the blades which engage the Wear strips being relativelyy Wide.

A still further object is to so construct and mount the endless chains to which the blades are attached that the chains are dis posed exterior to thetrough, do not come in contact ivith the material being handled, and aie not subjected to wear, the blades being supported entirely upon the Wear strips and thus placing no downward strain upon the chains.

Another object is to provide improved means for connecting the blades to the endless chains and supporting the endless chains, and to provide a second trough over which the lower flight of the endless chain oper-- 4, i922. sei-iai ad. 599,078.

ates so that Aany ydustorother material i which may be carried over by the blades `is discharged onto this second troughto be carried back again for re-elevation.`

Still another object is to vprovide means for vertically guidingthe elevator 'frame between the upright supports therefor, `Such means permitting the frame ktobe tipped to any reasonable angle. i

A further objectl is to provide means;

whereby the .slack maybe taken up. in-the endless chains, and a trough section which is movable with the shaft carrying fthe sprocket wheels Whichv are used to tighten up the chains. l. .l

Other objects will appear inthe course of the following description. f i My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Whereinz-` i Figure 1 is al side elevation of an. elevator constructed in accordance with my inven tion; v Figure is a fragmentarylr longitudinal section thereof; n Figure isa fragmentary of the elevator, the motor partly broken away;

Figure 4; is a section on the line 1l-4 ot Figure 3; y

Figure 5 is an elevation of the superstructure and the elevator tilting means;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary top plan view ofthe beam 16; f

Figure 7 is a fragment-ary perspective view of one of the elevator frame bars 29 showing the guiding means 5l'.

Referring to thesefdrawingmvit will be top planV view casing being seen that l have illustrated an elevator cas-A ing having an endless elevator operating therein, this elevator casing or trame being supported by a Wheeled structure. -The wheeled structure comprises, as illustratetd in Figure 5, beams ltlliaving angle irons 11 bolted thereto and carrying the stub axles 12 and the Wheels 13. The beams 10 are disposed on cach side ot angle iron uprights 19t which are held to the beams 10 in any suitable manner, as by the angle irons i5, and the upper ends of theseuprights 14 are connected by transversely extending channel irons itl connected by angle iron braces to the uprights, these beainsvl projecting beyond one ot' said uprights on one side, The extremities ot the beams 10 are connected to the outwardly projecting flange ofthe angle iron uprights 14 by means of braces 17. A bracket 18 is mounted upon oneof the uprights 14 and the outer end of this bracket is supported by means of a vertical angle iron 19 which extends downward and is operatively connected to one end of the beams 10 and braced by a diagonal brace 20. The elevator frame is supported b means of a bail 21 connected to a pulley b ook 22.

Mounted upon the bracket 18 is a. drum 23 operated by ,means of a gear wheel and a worm sha-ft 24 carrying a crank handle. Extending from this drum is a cable 25 which extends over a pulley 26 mounted in the projecting extremity of the beam 16,

. then the cable passes over a pulley or sheave 27, downward and around the pulley and lblock 22, then up again and over a second pulley 27, and then downward, and has its ends attached to a link 28 which extends upward from the yoke 21 and supports the pulley block. By this means it is obvious that the elevator frame may be raised or lowered to change its angle.

The elevator frame (see Fig.l 4)V comprises upper longitudinally extending angle irons 29 and lower longitudinally extending angle irons 30, these langle irons being connected at intervals by vertical lates 31, these vertical plates having ang e irons 32 attached to them, and attached to these angle irons are transverse bracing angle irons 33, upon which is supported the trough 34, this trough havin upwardly turned side walls, these side wal s being spaced fromwthe plates 31. Attached to the angle irons 29 are inwardly extending brackets 35, and attached to these brackets are longitudinally extending sheet metal walls 36, the upper margins of which are outwardly flared, the lower portions of these walls being in alignment with the upwardly turned walls of the trough 34 and the lower edges of these walls 36 being spaced from the upper edges of the side walls 'of the trough.

Extending through suitable bearings in the lower end of the elevator frame is a transverse shaft 37 carrying sprocket wheels 38, (see Fig. 2) and operatively supported in suitable bearings inthe upper end of the elevator frame, as will be later explained, is a transverse shaft 39 carrying sprocket wheels 40. Operating over these sprocket wheels 38 and 40 a-re the endless chains 41, the upper flights ofwhich lare disposed coincident with the slot or space between the lower edges of the walls 36 and the upper edges of the side walls of the a trough 34. Operating within the trough 34 are transverse blades 42, the extremities of which are riveted to inwardly extending flanges attached to links 43. The lower edges of the blades are angularly bent and extend toward the lower end of the elevator.

are fully supported and as a consequence no downward pull comesupon the chains 41 nor does any wear come on the side walls( of the trough 34 nor upon the shanks of the blades which are supported above the upper ,i edges of the trough walls, the sole function of the chains being to drag the blades up the trough 34 and down the trough 44. A cross piece 46 extends across the lower end of the trough above the path of movement of the blades and just below this cross piece is pivotcd agate 47 which normally bears upon the wear strips but swings inward to permit the blades to ass and then as soon as a blade has passed t rops downward again upon the wear strips and upon the bottom of the trough, the lower edge of this gate being cut away to fit over the wear strips.

The shaft 39 is preferably mounted .for movement longitudinally of the elevator frame so as to take up slack in the chains 41, and to this end plates 48 are riveted to the downwardly extending flanges of angle irons 29 at the upper ends thereof and form guides between which the cross heads 49 slide, the'se cross heads being provided with bearings for the shaft 39. Each cross head has attached 'to it a rearwardly extending screw o0, which screw passes through a yoke 51 or cross bar and engaging this screw is a nut52. By adjusting this nut, the cross heads 49 may be shifted longitudinally to` thus take up any slack. Preferably the upper end of the trough 34 will be formed of? a trough-shaped section 53 which will ema brace t-he trough and overlap it and which will be attached to the cross heads 49 so that as the cross heads and shaft 39 are moved rearward this shiftable cross section 53 will also be moved rearward.

Pivoted to the lower angle irons 30 is a chute 54, upon which the elevator discharges and which may be used to guide material downward into a truck, this trough being supported by braces 55 having adjustable connections with the angle irons 30. Preferably angular members 56 will be attached to each upper angle iron 29 to project laterally therefrom and extend on each side of the upright 14. Attached to these angular members 56 on the confronting faces thereof are rounded abutments 57 which are spaced from each other sufficiently to loose- MIO ly embrace the flanges of the uprights 14 and thereby guide the elevator in its vertical movement, while at the same time the rounded faces permit the elevator to `be turned through a considerable angle. The elevator frame is furthermore supported by means of bracing bars 58 of angle iron which are each pivoted to one extremity of an angle iron 11, the other ends of these angle irons 58 being pivotally connected to plates 59 attached to the lower frame bars 30 of the elevator frame. Thus'these braces may be shifted to any angle in accordance with the elevation of the elevator and its angle.

For the purpose of operating the elevator, an electric motor is used, mounted within a motor casing 60 which is attached to the i frame of the elevator above the uprights 14.

The motor, which is ordinarily seven and a half horsepower, carries on its shaft a gear wheel 61 shown as meshing with a gear wheel 62, the shaft of which carries a pinion 63, in turn meshing with a relatively large gear wheel 64, this gear wheel G4 being fast upon a shaft 65 which carries a pinion 66, in turn engaging a pinion 67 mounted upon a shaft 68 which extends through the motor casing and carries on it a sprocket wheel with which a sprocket chain 69 engages, this sprocket chain extending around a sprocket wheel 70 mounted upon the shaft 39 and thus the endless elevator is driven. The motor is, of course, to be connected to any suitable source of electric power by flexible connections, plugs, etc., not necessary to describe or illustrate, as this is common in the art. I, of course, do not wish to be limited to the particular gearing which I have described, as it is obvio-us that other gearing might be used, nor do I wish to be limited Ato the details of construction and arrangement of parts as illustrated and described except as defined in the appended claims.

The particular advantages of this elevator are as follows: The elevator may be raised Q or lowered without any tendency of the ele- ,vator frame to swing longitudinally. In other words, the bail which sup-ports the elevator frame is always disposed in alignment with the uprights 14. This is secured by the engagement of the members 57 on each side of the uprights 14. If it were not for these members, there would be a tendency of the elevator frame to slew forward and there would be diiiiculty in keeping the uprights in proper position. This is, of course, further prevented by the braces. 58. lVhen the elevator' is turned to a horizontal position, it may be readil trundled to any desired point and may ge readily adjusted to the exact position required for operation. The elevator frame may then be raised or lowered to the requisite degree to permit the discharge of material into trucks, cars,

bins or the like.

One of the particular advantages due to the details of construction described is that there is no wear upon the trough 34 for the reason that the drag blades 42 rest upon relatively heavy and thick rails or wear strips 45. Furthermore, this permits the deposit on the face of the trough of a small amount of powdered material, such as coal, which aids the blades to slide over the face of the trough. It will further be noted that this construction takes away all strain, due to the weight of the blades, from the chains 41 so that these chains are simply underV a pulling strain, and furthermore it will be seen that the Shanks of the attachment links extend through the slots formed between members 36 and the upwardly turned side walls of trough 34 without touching the edges of these side walls at all so that there is no wear on these side walls. The chains vare disposed entirely exterior to the trough and, therefore, do not come in contact with the material being elevated and do not become clogged or loaded with dirt which would obstruct the free movementof the chains and which would get into the links and impede their flexibility. The construction of the elevator frame is such that it is very light and yet very strong and, as before remarked, all dust or material that may be carried down to the blades is caught on the lower trough and carried downward with the blades and discharged at the forward end of the elevator, where it is again likely to be picked up and carried up over the trough 34 and discharged into the truck or other receptacle.

This elevator is designed to be used with the conveying mechanism illustrated in my pending application, Serial N o. 599.077 tiled of even date herewith, this elevating mechanism being driven from shaft 65 by p means of a sprocket wheel 71 loose upon this shaft and adapted to be thown into or out of operative engagement therewith by means of a clutch member 7 2 having a clutch operating lever 73. It will be obvious, however, that the elevator may be used disassm ciated from the conveyer.

1. A conveyer including a trough having upturned side walls and side walls sup` ported in alignment with and above the si e walls of the trough, the side walls of the trough and the second named side walls together defining elongated slots, blades operating over and resting upon the bot.

tom of t-he trough and having Shanks extending through said slots and beyond the side walls and supported by the blades in spaced relation tothe walls of the slots, endless elements disposed exterior to the walls and connected to said blades, and means for supporting and driving wthe endless elements.

2. A conveyer frame comprising laterally disposed upper and lower longitudinal members, vertical members connecting the longitudinal members on each side, transverse members connecting the vertical members, an upper trough resting upon said transverse members and narrower than the space between the vertical members, said trough having side walls, blades operating over and supported 4by the floor of the trough and having Shanks extending out over said side Walls and out of contact therewith, and endless elements disposed exterior to the side walls and operativelyv connected to said blades.

3. A conveyer including a frame comprising upper and lower longitudinally extending angle irons on each side, vertical members Aconnecting the upper and lower angle irons of each pair, transverse members connected to the vertical members, a trough having upwardly extending side walls resting upon said transverse members, vertical walls operatively supported upon the longitudinal members and disposed in vertical alignment with the walls of the trough but spaced therefrom to provide slots, blades operating over and supported by the floor of the trough and having shanksextending through said slots but out of contact with the slot walls, endless elements' disposed exterior to said walls and opposite said slots and to which the shanks are operatively connected, and means for supporting and operating said endless elements.

4. A conveyer including a conveyer frame comprising upper and lower longitudinally extending angle irons on each side, vertical elements connecting the angle irons of each pair, transverse members connected to the vertical members, a trough supported upon the transverse membeis and having` upwardly extending side walls, the width of the trough being less than the distance between the vertical members, side walls disosed in vertical alignment, with the side walls of the trough but spaced therefrom lo provideI slots, brackets connecting said last named side walls to the upper angle irons, blades operating over and supported entirely by the floor of the trough and having shanks extending through said slots but out of contact with the slot walls, endless elements connected to said shanks and dis posed exteriorly of the side Walls but between the side Walls and the upper longitudinal members, and means for supporting and operating the endless elements.

5. In a` conveyer and elevator of the character described, a Wheeled frame including uprights and transverse connecting members, a conveyer frame disposed between said uprights and movable vertically independently of the uprights, links pivotally connected to the wheeled frame and to the conveyer frame, a bail pivotally connected to the conveyer frame, hoisting mechanism connected to the bail whereby the elevatorV may be raised or lowered, and guides loosely embracing the uprights mounted on the conveyer frame, said guides having rounded faces confronting the uprights permitting the conveyer frame to be turned to a plurality of angles to the uprights.

G. A portablel conveyer including a. wheeled supporting frame, the frame comprising a transverse beam, stub axles se.

cured to said beam and projecting laterally therefrom, wheels on the stub axles, uprights connected to said beam, a cross bar connecting the upper ends of said uprights, an elevator' frame disposed between the uprights, a bail pivotally connectedto the elevator frame, a block and tackle connection between the bail and the cross bar of the frame and including a cable, a. winding drum mounted upon the wheeled supporting frame and to which said cable is connected, and links pivotally connected to the Wheeled frame and to the elevator frame.

7. In an elevator and conveyer, an elevator fraine having a longitudinally extending trough, blades operating over the trough, endless elements to which the blades are connected, means for supporting and driving the endless elements including a shaft at the upper end of the trough, Wheels mounted thereon and over which the endless elements pass, said shaft being longitudinally movable with relation to the trough, means for shifting said shaft longitudinally to thereby take up slack in the endless elements, and a trough section disposed beneath the upper end of the first named trough and forming a continuation thereof and operatively connected to move longitudinally with said shaft.

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature.

FRANKLIN ARNDT. 

